


Crash Landing

by SoongTypeDisaster



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26656018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoongTypeDisaster/pseuds/SoongTypeDisaster
Summary: When their shuttle is forced to make an emergency landing, Data makes sure Geordi pauses in his work long enough to take care of himself.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	Crash Landing

**Author's Note:**

> This is super short, I just needed to get this scene out of my head.

“Geordi…”

A rumble sounded from far off, and wind whistled eerily through the barren landscape. Geordi had been head-down, working for some time now trying to pinpoint just what had caused the hull breach that had forced an emergency landing. The pair had been headed to a conference. This planet was not even close to their destination. But it was the nearest one with an atmosphere. It was habitable.

Barely.

“Geordi,” Data tried again, “it is getting cold outside.”

“Mm?” For a moment Data thought the words hadn’t sunk in. Then, “I just need a little bit longer. I think I’ve almost got this. Cold’s not that bad.”

“Geordi,” he repeated, more insistently this time. “As your friend I must advise you to look after your health. If you continue to work without adequate protection – protection I may remind you we do not currently have – the resulting frostbite may be irreversible by the time we are able to reunite with the Enterprise.”

At last Geordi paused in his work. Success? “Data, I’m _fine_. I appreciate your concern, but I just need--”

“Then as your superior officer,” Data interjected, tone growing the tiniest shade firmer, “I must insist you come inside. You may resume in the morning.”

There was a beat where Geordi looked like he might argue. Stubborn when he was trying to puzzle out a problem. It was a trait Data understood well. One he respected. But it would not do if it put his friend in danger. Finally, instead, the engineer blew a heavy breath out through his mouth and shook his head, gathering his tools. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I just don’t understand what happened up there.”

Data relaxed his posture, moving aside and extending one arm to allow Geordi to pass first. The cold would not harm the android. It would have to get a lot colder before his systems were at risk. “Nor do I,” he said as he shut the shuttle door behind them, locking the chill away. “However it would be best to approach the problem again after you are well rested.”

They had taken one of the smaller shuttles. Not cramped, per se, but certainly not filled to the brim with amenities. Instead of the dining table contained in some of the larger shuttles, this one only had a small eating surface. Only minimal space for sitting and for sleeping. Geordi dropped his tools in the nearest convenient spot, and himself into a chair a moment later, leaning over the table to prod at the replicator. “Well, since we don’t know how long we’re gonna be here, guess I’d better conserve power as best we can. They still have emergency rations stowed under the seats in this thing?” He rubbed his hands together, blowing on them a little as he glanced around for the catch on the storage compartment.

Data noticed.

“We are still running at full power, and our diagnostics thus far show that the engine has not been compromised. It should be sufficient to last us for some time should the need arise.” Geordi raised an eyebrow at him, and he clarified. “There is no reason to refrain from replicating a hot meal.”

The engineer paused in rubbing his hands, realizing now that he’d been caught out, and broke into a warm laugh. “Can’t get anything past you. Alright. Real meal it is.” After setting himself up with a savory-smelling soup he went silent for a few bites, letting the steam warm his face for a while. Data stepped back to the controls to give him space, clearly still working. Finally Geordi started to feel his fingers properly again, and glanced over to what his friend was doing. “Still no luck contacting the ship, huh?”

The android shook his head. “They are still out of range. It will likely be a few days before anyone notices we are missing, at which point they should take a similar course to find us.”

It was, in fact, two weeks before the Enterprise came within comm range, by which point Geordi had exhausted all attempts to repair the hull with the tools they had. The breach, as it turned out, had been caused by a swarm of specially-adapted parasitic creatures that were capable of evading the scanners, chewing through a ship’s hull, and surviving the vacuum of space. The Enterprise, being a larger vessel with stronger shields, had had time to detect and deter them before they overwhelmed the shields and reached the hull. With the ship’s full resources now at hand, the hull repairs were able to be completed and the shuttle returned home.


End file.
